Christchurch film-maker Gerard Smyth (When a City Falls) recently travelled to India to film the remarkable story of Jean Watson, author of the 1965 novel, Stand in the Rain, based on her 10-year relationship with Barry Crump.

In New Zealand, the 80-year-old is an anonymous woman living in a modest Wellington apartment. But in Southern India, where she started a children’s home 30 years ago, ‘Jean Aunty’ is revered as a holy person.

Fresh from the New Zealand International Film Festival, Gerard will show excerpts from Aunty and the Star People and will be joined by Jean to discuss her literary roots and the steps that led her to ‘a life least intended’.